Some Online tools to assist in student education
Tonic Tutor is an excellent online program for music teachers and students created by composer Christine Donkin and artist and web developer William Ratke that is designed to supplement and complement private music instruction. It features educational games that can be tailored by the teacher to suit the needs of individual students. The games focus on skills such as ear training, note reading, and music theory, and can be used for students of every level.
Teoria features some very useful Music Theory and Ear Training Exercises. In particular, I like the intervals and triads ear training exercises found on this site. These can be found by clicking on exercises on the Teoria home page. The clef reading exercises on this page are also quite useful for students learning to read notes. I encourage you to check these exercises out as well as explore the many other exercises, articles, and music reference materials on this site.
Basic Music Theory: Ricci Adams musictheory.net
How to Identify Intervals Aurally
When identifying intervals it is very helpful to associate the interval with the first few notes of a song that is known very well or a particular line of a song. I have listed some of these below.
Perfect Unison (P1): Yankee Doodle
Major 2 Above (+2): Frere Jacques; Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer; Doe a Deer (Sound of Music); Silent Night
Major 2 below (-2): Three Blind Mice; Yesterday (Beatles); Away in a Manger
Minor 2 Above (-2): The Entertainer
Minor 2 Below (-2): Joy to the World; Fur Elise
Major 3 Above (+3): Kum Ba Ya; While Shepherds Watched their Flocks By Night
Major 3 Below (+3): Good Night Ladies; Swing Low Sweet Chariot
Minor 3 Above (-3): O Canada; So Long, Farewell (Sound of Music); What Child is This (Greensleeves)
Minor 3 Below (-3): This Old Man; Hey Jude (The Beatles); Oranges and Lemons; Jesus Loves me; Frosty the Snowman
Perfect 4 Above (P4): Here Comes the Bride; Auld Lang Syne; O Christmas Tree; Amazing Grace; Love Me Tender (Elvis); Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Perfect 4 Below (P4): Baseball/Hockey Chant; Born Free; I’ve Been Working on the Railroad
Tritone Above: The Simpsons; Ma-ria (West Side Story
Tritone Below: Harry Potter main theme, last two notes of first line; The Schumann Waltz; And I'll - sing once more (last line of "The Sound of Music" )
Perfect 5th Above (P5): Star Wars March; Raindrops on Roses (from My Favourite Things in the Sound of Music); Twinkle Twinkle; Bleed it Out (Linkin Park)
Perfect 5th Below (P5): Flintstones Theme; Bleed it Out (Linkin Park)
Major 6 Above (+6): My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean; It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Major 6 Below (+6): Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen; Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)
Minor 6 Above (-6): Because (Beatles); Love Story Theme; There’s - a land that I heard of (“Over the Rainbow”)
Minor 6 Below (-6): Love Story Theme
Major 7 Above (+7): Theme from Fantasy Island
Major 7 Below (+7): And have - yourself a merry little Christmas now (last line)
Minor 7 Above (-7): There’s A Place For Us (West Side Story); Theme From the Original Star Trek
Minor 7 Below (-7): None But the Lonely Heart; And may all your Christmases be white ("White Christmas", last line)
Perfect Octave Above (P8): Somewhere Over the Rainbow; A Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting)
Perfect Octave Below (P8): There’s No-Business Like Show Business